OPLAN JJ: Helping my brother survive the demands of high school

As an elementary pupil, I always envied my classmates who had elder siblings to help them with their projects. My projects were all clumsy and stupid-looking while theirs were nicely done. I couldn't possibly ask my parents: they knew nothing about designs and stuff. It was just me and the right side of my brain.

Keeping those memories in my head, I decided to help my brother with his projects. JJ isn't an artsy fartsy and his low grades were mainly because he didn't submit his projects. At least now, he did as far as to ask me to do his projects.

First Project: The Scrapbook

His TLE subject is Computer IV and I don't really understand the need for scrapbooks (shouldn't they learn to use PhotoShop or something?) aside from that his teacher who sold the materials at such high cost would profit from it (This is a public high school anyway, so, pft.).

That's my Mom's bag right there. I have a messy workplace on the floor

This is my favorite page in his scrapbook.

With all fairness, I had fun doing it. I kind of missed the artsy fartsy stuff.

Second Project: Bible

I am excited to help my brother design his bible. It's meant to narrate his genesis and prophecy: from the time our parents met to his ideals for the future.

     

The front page of my brother's Bible. It is still under construction.

My (so-called) Masterpiece

The 'bible' is just a scheme of a teacher. Even though I could smell money and nothing but money from it, this was actually worth keeping (and I guess that is why other teachers made it a requirement even though they didn't sell materials).
 
This project helped me trace my history back from how my parents met, the wedding, my childhood, and the origin of my name. It's been four years and mine is still in one piece. It went as far as Los Baños so that I wouldn't feel so homesick when I couldn't go home.

I entitled my bible 'Crescendo' because life gets louder as we grow old.

My favorite page of Crescendo shows me graduating from prep, kinder, and grade school.

Good thing I haven't started on my own academic problems yet which I think is coming soon.

A Hundred-Word Story: Faint Beats and Foosteps

Every breath I take is painful: every heartbeat's a struggle, and the longer I lay drowning in my blood, the more I wish for my demise. The darkness is not helping, and neither is the cold brick wall any comfort. My heart was stabbed by a traitor: even the beautiful moon was sufferable.

Across, the busy street buzzes with life-- the exact thing I'm slowly losing. If only I could shout for help, if only I could run...

Dub-dub. Suddenly, I hear footsteps. Dub-dub. Someone's coming.

'Help,' I forcefully whimper, clutching my chest as if it can save me.

Silver screen: A look at the past

Just when I thought I wouldn't have any time for vacation, my internship ended on May 22, leaving me 17 days of summer before school starts. As you may have guessed, I had a lot of free time. I thought of watching old movies that I kept hearing about from the new ones, so let me play the role of a movie critic for a while.

Here are the list of the oldies I got to see before and during the summer break—some of which were personally recommended while the others were mentioned from movies and TV series.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) - I'm not sure where I got the recommendation to watch this. I loved Audrey Hepburn here (Cross my heart, kiss my elbows!). She was really skinny and stylish. The story is about a phony socialite in New York who had a brother to take care of after his supposed comeback from the military. She met a neighbor, a writer, who also ended up as her friend. What I liked about this film was that it did not have many self-inflicted dramas some just can't relate with. I had to search the Internet for the plot in order to better understand it. Way back, people talked too fast.

 Star Wars (1977-1983, 1999-2005) - The intention to see this saga rooted from How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Not recently, my brother and I bought a DVD and were hooked with the prequel trilogy, Episodes I to III. I just learned that the prequel was filmed later (1999-2005), and that Episodes IV-VI were filmed earlier (1977-1983). No wonder the plot went all crappy and corny! I didn't finish the later episodes: I got saturated and bored. Anyway, I'm thinking of re-visiting the other episodes in order to see the Ewoks Barney kept talking about.

The Breakfast Club (1985) - When I saw Pitch Perfect and after everybody else did, there was a fuss to watch this film. Judd Nelson was really cute here, something about his nose? I’m not even sure. Easy A also mentioned the fist-in-the-air scene. The movie was about five different teenagers getting along and understanding their differences.



     






Sleepless in Seattle (1994) - Robin, from HIMYM, saw Ted re-enact the last scene from this. I didn't like it. It was an old chick-flick about magic and destiny and hearts and flowers. I wasn't in the mood for such.

Pulp Fiction (1994) - I asked the Internet for the best films of the 1990's, and this movie kept appearing on almost every list. I was surprised that 9gag used scenes from this as memes (I double dare you, motherfucker!). It got me really entertained; it was funny in so many ways. I still had to ask Wikipedia for some facts though, because I honestly did not understand how Jules' and Vincent's conversation centered about a foot massage and someone getting thrown from the window. I was confused at first.

     





Nell (1994) - This made me cry! Despite some critics, I found Jodie Foster appealing here! This was recommended by Lyn, a friend, who belonged to a class where this film was shown. Well, interpersonal communication was the topic, and Nell communicated rather differently, so it was logical. It's a masterpiece.

Anna and the King (1999) - Again, another film from Lyn which stars Jodie Foster. Blooper alert, it was a sad ending. I really liked this film. Plus, I got to know what Chow Yun Fat looks like! Some scenes were rather corny and unbelievable, but all in all it was great.

         All the movies here were from Hollywood. I’m thinking of re-visiting the Filipino cinema, too. I mean, I've seen enough FPJ and Bong Revilla action movies, but I don’t think I've seen enough drama yet. Is it about time I check what the Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor craze is about?

   

Guess who got Enchanted?

Last May 26, Sunday, Rav and I went to Enchanted Kingdom (EK). Originally, the plan was to go there months ago, but then she failed to file her leave on time so it was cancelled. Honestly, I thought it was never going to happen, but here I am, blogging about the fun we had.

The last time I went there, I was four years old. It’s been 15 years, EK! And we meet again!

The most fun rides are Anchor’s Away, Disc-O’-Magic, Log Jam, and Space Shuttle. Anchor’s Away took me by surprise, I thought it was a light ride that we sat by the end of it to have a better ‘feel.’ Man, those few minutes almost took my breath away! When it started throwing us higher and higher, I started to scream like AAAAH! WOOOH! MAMA! WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU?

We asked an EK staff to take a picture of us before we go Anchor's Away.

Disc-O’-Magic made me dizzy a lot. My eyes were open the whole time to savor the moment, and I felt really dizzy what with all the circular motion. But it was A-OK! You’d feel really secure with it, so it isn't as scary as should be, but it’s mighty good!

The dizzying Disc-O'-Magic with Eldar in the middle.

Log Jam was a short and wet ride. The first time we went down from an uphill slope, it made me scream big time. We had no seat-belts on or whatever and we had to literally hang on for dear life! The second time we went down, I screamed with anticipation since it was higher, but I shouldn't have: I was not afraid afterwards. Like, what? That’s it? Needless to say, it got us wet and scared for a while, so the ride is also in my list of fun rides.

Is my imitation of Eldar good enough?

Somebody is scared of heights. The Ferris Wheel was not as high as I thought it would be
 nor was it fast and scary nor fun. I was a little bit disappointed.

Last but not the least, the Space Shuttle. Rav won’t ride it with me, so I waited the long line alone. It was not supposed to be my turn yet, but the train had two vacant seats by the end. The people in front of me were in group of threes and fives, and when I was asked, ‘How many are you with  Ma’am?’ I motioned with my index finger, ‘I'm alone.’ And so I had to ride almost at the back (again) alone, and had the ride of my life! My eyes were wide open as we were sent to higher altitude, but when the train started moving fast I closed my eyes. I opened my eyes twice, saw the sky, regretted it, opened it again, and saw the flashing lights of cameras. It felt nice being thrown and everything, but I regretted having closed my eyes afterwards. I was a brave girl, I told myself, and now I brag about it here. Huh.

The trail for the Space Shuttle

We also rode the Carousel to get even dizzier after Disc-O'-Magic.

The sad part of the trip was the rain. If it hadn't rained, we could have been able to ride the Anchor's Away and Space Shuttle twice! And we could have got the time to ride EKstreme, too. Nonetheless, it was a day to remember, way better than my EK memory from when I was four.

The wet look we had after the Rio Grande Rapids. Man, Ania  was really unlucky with
that one. I hated how it wet my shoes.

Rav and I had a really good time catching up what was going on with each other’s life. Thanks to her I got to go to EK, have a great bonding moment with an old friend, and forget about all the drama I’d been afflicting myself with. Thanks, Rav!

Honey and some clover, please?

            I've been wanting to post about Honey and Clover (H&C) for two months now, but I got pre-occupied with other things like internship and procrastination. H&C is one of the best animes I ever watched, one that was heartfelt since I was especially heartbroken the time I saw it. It's an anime that revolves around the lives and love affairs of five (5) characters.

        The Main Characters of Honey and Clover. From left to right: Yamada, Morita, Hagu, and Takemoto.

Behind Morita is Mayama. Photo taken from the Internet.

Mainly, the characters are Hagu, Yamada, Morita, Takemoto, and Mayama. My favorite character is Yamada, she was the girl who helplessly fell in love with a guy (Mayama) who was madly in love with another woman. She often cried and whenever she was hurt, so was I.

Yamada, crying in front of a Ferris Wheel. Photo taken from the Internet.

           Meanwhile, Hagu was the perfect character. If you’re an avid anime fan, you should know about how there’s always a perfect character. She was very pretty, blonde, and talented. That’s the reason why two guys fell in love with her at first glance. The two guys are, of course, Morita and Takemoto.

Hagu's face when Morita and Takemoto first saw her. Photo taken from the Internet.

 Of the two guys, I liked Morita more. He was very perky, as talented as Hagu, and he was filthy rich, too. Takemoto played the good guy Greg, and I didn’t like him much. It wasn’t because he was a good guy, it was because he reminded me of people saying they love somebody, but then, being too scared to do anything about it.

Shinobu Morita and his older brother, Kaoru. The plot of his family is nice, too. 

Photo taken from the Internet.

In the end, Hagu chose her Uncle Shuuji who is also in love with her (incest alert). She chose him to take care of her, give his life to her, as she was being treated to be able to paint again. Did I mention she got into a life-changing accident?

            H&C is, relatively, a short anime compared to Inu Yasha and Naruto, but since it wasn’t fantasy, it was enough. The ending would leave you hanging, but needless to say, all of the characters reached their dreams. In my opinion, that is. 

Suckers for beauty

Some people would argue that beauty is skin-deep, that it is one's personality that matters. But who are we kidding? Just as Taylor Swift said in her song Lucky One, 'Everybody loves pretty. Everybody loves cool.'

If it is talent alone that decides a person's career, we'd have many not-so-good-looking singers, ugly actresses, and fat models on TV. In real life though, to be successful we are pressured to look good according to society's standards. That is why our famous celebrities have unattainable perfect faces.

How we appreciate beauty

To tell you more accurately about how we appreciate beauty, I'd give you a specific phenomenon I experienced.

It all started in sophomore year, when our dorm serviced wi-fi. Ash and I would use her laptop to browse through Facebook to search for the prettiest girls we knew and then decide how beautiful  they were.

Just to clarify, nothing here is weird. We simply appreciated our acquaintances' beauty so much that we'd boast about them to each other. It became some kind of competition on who knew the prettiest girl on the planet. Sad to say, it ended as fast as it started. It was a one-day competition in which we realized we had different types of girls we liked.

However, it didn't end there. Recently, in our new dorm, our roommate Cham brought a magical broadband modem, and although it was the slowest I had ever encountered, it worked. Not surprisingly, they searched the pages of their good-looking lady friends. I was reviewing for a long exam so I wasn't a participant but a mere spectator who would give them approval or otherwise.

Shin Min-Ah, a famous Korean actress who played the role of Mi Ho from My Girlfriend is a  Gumiho. Photo taken from the Internet.

Cham never brought the magical stick again, but then on our own, we started to download photos of pretty celebrities, shared them via bluetooth, and gazed at the images in our phones until we were out of the trance. In fact, we'd download photos even of the non-celebrities so long as they were beautiful. Maybe it was stalker-like, but to us three, we were merely looking at the faces who did and who would make it big in life.

The Media

Perhaps we did this because we were in awe of their beauty. Either that or deep inside, we actually wanted to be as pretty, sexy, and perfect as the pretty people probably were.

With this realization, I find it disturbing and would like to blame the Western Popular Culture I so adore. Show by show and advertisement by advertisement, the media would portray the certain kind of perfectness we are supposed to follow. We use whitening soaps, moisturizing lotion, and oil-control face wash for this reason--to be beautiful--because women are meant to be as gorgeously appealing as American models.

Jennifer Lawrence, one of Hollywood's prettiest face today. She played Katniss from The Hunger Games, and she received an Oscar from playing Tiffany of the Silver Lining's Playbook. Photo also taken from the Internet.

Even in China, people are becoming major Western Pop Culture consumers. Signature brands of the US are making their way to foreign malls. I also saw on National Geographic how surgery was becoming more and more famous to the Chinese. One of their most famous actress had her eyes widened, her eyelids doubled, and who knows what else she did to her whole face. You get the idea.

The Average Joes

We are then, left with the conclusion that we are indeed suckers for beauty. We want what we see on TV. So what do we do aside from buying products that could make or break our chances?

Some of us become anorexic. Some of us develop low self-esteem and some of us are pressured to the extent that we go under the knife. Some would post photos on Facebook to fish for the necessary compliments for boost.

Nonetheless, some of us would focus on what we do best and thank God for the imperfect face and body. Some of us would still make it big even without the pleasantries. Some would still eat chocolates to be happy and not mind the pounds.

Just as it depends on who is looking to appreciate art, it depends on who is using the media to be affected. We should learn to be critical on what we see and hear, and on what we accept as norms and goals. We are affected to some extent, but all of us are ourselves responsibility.


We live in a society we didn't choose. We live by the kind of rules we didn't agree on. Our lives are shaped by the community, yes, but our success lies on our hands and the strength of our faith. Not all of us may be beautiful, not all of us may have the edge, but maybe we should think of beauty as more of an 'advantage' than a requirement. A few some may have it, but not all have the heart. Also, not everyone who is adored is happy. Quoting Swift's same song: 'You don't feel pretty. You just feel used.'

My true love

Reading was not my hobby until my best buddy in high school persuaded me to try Rosamunde Pilcher's Come Home. That was in 2008, when I thought I'd never finish a book. But I did--which felt rewarding--and I was so proud I wanted everyone to know I finished a real book. Not a Sweet Dreams one, but a real one! And com'on, I perfectly understood what the characters were saying!

Since then, my best friend and I started reading every novel Rosamunde Pilcher ever made. We also read the other novels in the condensed Reader's Digest Jet's aunt gave her, and we enjoyed talking about the stories afterwards.

It was in high school when I started reading novels, and I'd forever be thankful to my best friend who persuaded me. If she hadn't, I'd be missing a huge part of my life.

Although it is not a hobby as cool as volleyball, Kung Fu, or whatever, reading is the only thing I do constantly. Not that I read every single day, but not a long time pass by without me finishing a book or a series of it. My academic grades can attest to this, because I'd rather read than study. In high school, before the UPCAT, I even prioritized a book over reviewing--which is probably why I skipped a lot in the Math section and answered all the blanks with B, because I heard Bs on Math exams are for sure.

But why are some people so hung up with reading? Reading is almost the same as entering a new world, meeting new people, and being to different places. Some you'd like, some you wouldn't. And even though I am not good enough to be a critic, if a storyteller has bad ears for narratives, why bother for so long? Unless you're as nosy as I am when it comes to endings, there's no need to stay in a world with bad storytellers.

Pride and Prejudice is one of the best books I have ever read.

And just the same with music, I don't patronize one genre of novels. I've read a lot of fiction from Mystery, Horror, Romance, Classics, and Chick Lit. However, I'm not rich enough to buy the books I like. Since I can't afford to buy printed books, I download e-books instead. If reading is something you're passionate about, it wouldn't matter if you had to read on your cellphone or your computer, even though paper would really smell nice.

This is the exact cover of the book I borrowed from Jet.

For example, I read the Sorcerer's Stone and The Prisoner of Azkaban in borrowed soft-bounds, but I finished the Harry Potter series on a China Phone that could read e-books in the .txt format. When I had a Java-enabled phone, I downloaded the Hunger Games in .jar, and now that I have a smartphone, PDF files would do. As my phones evolved, so did my e-books.

I'd assume that you see now the reason for this entry's title. If it's true love, it wouldn't matter how it appears because it's the inside that counts. I hope you have found yours just as I have found mine, because you see, my love takes me places I never thought I'd be in.